Question on connecting flights

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We have connecting flights. The first flight, Clt-JFK, is economy. JFK to Rome is premium economy. Can we get in the shorter, “priority lines” in Charlotte?  They say you need to arrive 2 hours early for domestic flights and 3 for international. Do we need to arrive 2 or 3 hours early in Charlotte?  I’ve never had a connecting flight before so I don’t know how all this works. 

[taxatty]

Since you must know crowded and busy CLT can be, often with long TSA lines, I wouldn't get to CLT any later than 2 hours before any flight, especially since here you'll have to use the check-in counter--regardless of which one.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

4 minutes ago, taxatty said:

Since you must know crowded and busy CLT can be, often with long TSA lines, I wouldn't get to CLT any later than 2 hours before any flight, especially since here you'll have to use the check-in counter--regardless of which one.

We were planning on 3, but my friend told me two will be plenty. 

[the mice]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We were planning on 3, but my friend told me two will be plenty. 

In the overall scheme of things for your entire trip, is it really worth the risk just to spend 1 less hour in the airport at the start of your trip?   If anything goes wrong (traffic problem, etc.) you will be in knots - no way to start off IMHO. Once, years ago, despite best laid plans, there were 2 major traffic issues and we just made the check in cutoff for our flight.  Been there, done that - but didn't want to do it.  Better to be safe than sorry.  

[GeezerCouple]

46 minutes ago, the mice said:

In the overall scheme of things for your entire trip, is it really worth the risk just to spend 1 less hour in the airport at the start of your trip?   If anything goes wrong (traffic problem, etc.) you will be in knots - no way to start off IMHO. Once, years ago, despite best laid plans, there were 2 major traffic issues and we just made the check in cutoff for our flight.  Been there, done that - but didn't want to do it.  Better to be safe than sorry.  

 

Agree.

OP, how many days in advance are you flying?  What type of time buffer do you have?

And when is the "next flight to Rome" IF you miss the one you are planning?

 

When there is a tricky international connection, and the risk of "missing" means we might need to wait a day for the next long-haul flight, we'll sometimes spend the night at that connecting airport.  That really keeps the stress level down. 🙂 

 

And of course, we NEVER fly in same day as the cruise departure.

During winter, we almost always fly in at least 2 days in advance.  A storm might cause considerable delays and backups for a while.

 

We've usually made connections without much fuss, but even then, it's that SWAN effect:  Sleep Well At Night.  At this stage of our lives, we want as little stress as possible.  (Yes, when we were younger, we didn't think that much about these things... and we were lucky!)

 

GC

[NCteacherlovescruising]

14 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Agree.

OP, how many days in advance are you flying?  What type of time buffer do you have?

And when is the "next flight to Rome" IF you miss the one you are planning?

 

We are flying in a week and a half before our cruise and have apx a 7 hour layover at JFK. 
 

14 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

When there is a tricky international connection, and the risk of "missing" means we might need to wait a day for the next long-haul flight, we'll sometimes spend the night at that connecting airport.  That really keeps the stress level down. 🙂 

 

And of course, we NEVER fly in same day as the cruise departure.

During winter, we almost always fly in at least 2 days in advance.  A storm might cause considerable delays and backups for a while.

 

We've usually made connections without much fuss, but even then, it's that SWAN effect:  Sleep Well At Night.  At this stage of our lives, we want as little stress as possible.  (Yes, when we were younger, we didn't think that much about these things... and we were lucky!)

 

GC

I’m not worried about missing the connecting flight. We have hours to hang out at JFK. We’re bringing books to read at the airport.  Hopefully we can get on the lounge. 

[ilovesalchows]

If you plan on getting into any lounge at JFK, figure it out now.  Premium economy does not come with lounge access as far as I know.  

 

If you have enough time, you can check out the TWA hotel.  Make sure you leave enough time to get back through security.  You can even book a couple of hours in the pool over the tarmac.  Definitely an experience!

[NCteacherlovescruising]

4 hours ago, ilovesalchows said:

If you plan on getting into any lounge at JFK, figure it out now.  Premium economy does not come with lounge access as far as I know.  

 

If you have enough time, you can check out the TWA hotel.  Make sure you leave enough time to get back through security.  You can even book a couple of hours in the pool over the tarmac.  Definitely an experience!

My husband’s Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card comes with lounge access. It will be in a different terminal though. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Our flight got at JFK leaves from terminal 8 and the Chase lounge is in terminal 4. Will we have to go through TSA again each time we switch terminals there?   

[ilovesalchows]

Yes, airtrain is landside, then you go through security again.  Then there is the issue of if the TSA will let you enter a terminal you don't hold a ticket for.  You will then do it in reverse to get back to your departing terminal.